"That 2016 final call was not planned. The day before the final, I went to a function in Kolkata, a businessman's function. We had to have a question-and-answer session. One of the questions was, are there any players, apart from the obvious ones, in the West Indies team for the final that we should look at. So, I eliminated a few players, the Gayles, the Badrees, etc. And I said, 'Carlos Brathwaite'. He is built like a house, he is bowling well, he could be a game-changer. I never said, he would. I just said 'he could be' and he is someone to look out for," said Bishop in a video posted by the T20 World Cup Twitter handle on Thursday.
Brathwaite, till the 2016 final, was not much known in the international cricket arena. But when he slammed Ben Stokes for four sixes in the final over of the title-deciding match, he was thrusted into the spotlight. Remembering how he got to commentate on the final ball, Bishop said, "So, the West Indies team had been through a lot. I felt from being around the team. There was a sort of a fire burning in them. When that moment came and Carlos did, because I thought they were behind in the game and Carlos did what he did. It was just the passion that came out."
"I have always said that, I didn't want the moment. David Lloyd was on call lead. I did not want it. He handed it over to me and I was scared when he did that. All of a sudden, I was thrust into that position. It was just the emotion coming out. I sort of subconsciously remembered what I had said about Carlos the day before, when I told the businessman to look out for this fella, and I was kind of speaking to them, 'remember the name'."
West Indies will commence their title defence at the 2021 Men's T20 World Cup at the Super 12 stage against England, in a rematch of the 2016 final on October 23 in Dubai. West Indies are placed in Group 1 of Super 12 alongside England, Australia, South Africa and two teams joining from Round 1 of the tournament.
Dubai, Oct 15
Former West Indies cricketer turned commentator Ian Bishop recalled the story of how the 'remember the name' term came into his mind. Bishop's comments on air became unforgettable after Carlos Brathwaite slammed the fourth six of his innings to power West Indies to their second mens T20 World Cup title in 2016 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, defeating England in the final.
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